Verizon to sell mobile ads; service still not free

Where we come from, we were raised to believe that WAP-based content is intended to be simple, straight to the point, and free from distraction. After all, depending on the handset, you could be dealing with a bare minimum of screen real estate -- not to mention slow connections (in some areas, anyway) and impatient users. Be that as it may, Verizon Wireless is looking to imbue its walled garden of news, weather, and sports content with banner ads (can they really be called "banner" ads on screens that small?) starting early next year. To be fair, Verizon's fully aware of the revenue boon they could be looking at here, but its VP of marketing and digital media says "we likely will not - we want to take it carefully and methodically, and enable the right experience." Famous last words, Verizon; famous last words indeed. We'll be counting on you to set the right tone for industry moderation on this one.